Disrupting the diamond trade

By Kate Jones

Customisable is the hottest word for online businesses. Clients, whatever they are seeking, want their goods personalised and tailormade to suit them and them only.

So when Pascale Helyar–Moray read an article about a design-your-own-fashion e-boutique, she immediately knew what her next move would be.

Pascale Helyar-Moray.

"I thought, this is exactly what I need to do with jewellery, plus I needed a path into the workforce after motherhood," she says.

Three years later, StyleRocks was launched with the clear aim of allowing customers to design their own jewellery.

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All the finer details are completely up to the online buyer. They can choose the style of earrings they like, whether they prefer a sterling silver, rose or yellow gold ring, and what length necklace chain they want.

Last month the company added an engagement ring range to its collection, including stunners priced at up to $26,000.

This range would add new meaning to the word bespoke and allow StyleRocks to jump a huge sales barrier.

Major jewellers are slowly paying more attention to their e-commerce sales. Michael Hill, which has a 6 per cent retail value share in Australia's jewellery industry, now has a charm-bracelet builder.

Jewellers Association of Australia executive director Amanda Hunter says online retailing still has some major hurdles to clear.

"Jewellery is not really a mass-produced item – stones are natural and unique and so seeing the real thing is important for many purchasers, as is establishing trust with whom they are purchasing from," she says.

However, online retailers were challenging traditional jewellers on a number of fronts, Hunter says.

"Businesses like StyleRocks are being quite savvy in how they market jewellery to the consumer – they have a very fashion-focused approach and an interface that enables the consumer to feel as though they are in control of the design process by simply and easily 'customising' their choices," she says.

"StyleRocks seems to have identified that some consumers want to have solutions presented to them in a simple, packaged format so that their choice can be made quickly, yet is still informed.

"Many members of the industry are already tapping into this trend, however more could certainly look at this as a way of marketing their products."